Sammy J to take over as ABC Melbourne breakfast host
After struggling with low ratings for almost two years, ABC Melbourne has swung the axe on its Breakfast show line-up — and replaced them with a well known Melbourne comedian.
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ABC Melbourne has axed its battling breakfast program, with comedian Sammy J to take over from next year.
Jacinta Parsons and Sami Shah have been in charge of the 5.30am to 9am radio shift since early last year.
They took over from popular longstanding host Red Symons, who was sacked after 15 years on-air.
Despite some disappointing ratings during their tenure, Parsons and Shah had jumped to 10.4 per cent of the audience share during the last radio ratings period.
The duo were sitting at 8.6 per cent in April.
ABC Radio Melbourne manager Dina Rosendorff believed Parsons and Shah had gathered new listeners, but the pair had not connected as well with its existing audience.
Rosendorff said they would remain with the station and move to other roles next year.
“They have brought a fresh new sound to Breakfast along with a whole lot of new listeners,” she said.
“There is absolutely no way we would want to lose their skills.”
Shah took to Twitter following the announcement, saying his two year stint had been “an absolute thrill” and “an honour”.
“The best part of it has been all the people of colour and immigrants who told they were to hear of their own in this prominent role,” he wrote.
“What I thought was just a radio show meant so much to so many and that means the world to me.”
Shah wrote that he planned on returning to his “true loves — comedy and storytelling” and thanked listeners “who gave his random immigrant from Pakistan a go.”
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Sammy J is best-known for his satirical sketches about politics and has been a popular regular performer at the Melbourne Comedy Festival for a number of years.
“This station exists for all age groups and I hope I can build on the brilliant work they’ve (Parsons and Shah) done to make Breakfast accessible, relevant and fun,” he said.